Her spokesman said she gave them a dressing down in Number 10 this morning as she tried to instil discipline amongst her warring colleagues.

The weekend was marred by a string of stories in the press criticising Philip Hammond, culminating in a story quoting an unnamed minister accusing the Chancellor of trying to "f*** up" Brexit.

The Sun revealed he was slapped down by the Prime Minister for saying that women could "even" become train drivers - a claim he denied.

And a separate report said he had told colleagues that public sector workers were overpaid compared with those in the private sector.

The Chancellor used a TV appearance on Sunday to accuse Cabinet rivals of trying to undermine his agenda for a "softer" business-friendly Brexit prioritising jobs and the economy, and then reportedly accused his colleague Michael Gove as being behind the leaks.

Mr Hammond also allegedly told Mrs May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell she needed to get a grip on the situation, advice she appears to have heeded.

After this morning’s meeting the PM’s spokesman said: “The PM opened Cabinet and said as Prime Minister she has introduced a more genuine and collective discussion into the way policy is developed and agreed.

“She said the Government would make better decisions if colleagues were able to hold open discussions, that it was vital that discussions in Cabinet must remain private.

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Last night she told her MPs they risked letting Corbyn become PM if they did not end the in-fighting

The spokesman told reporters that ministers showed "widespread agreement" with the PM's message.

It comes after Tory grandee Sir Robert Atkins said some “childish and disloyal” Cabinet ministers - “whose ambitions far exceed their abilities” - were behaving like “ferrets in a sack”.

The party’s chairman in the North West, who served in Margaret Thatcher and John Major’s administrations, said they should “concentrate on doing the job for which they were elected — namely, running the country”.

Yesterday she used a speech at a Tory drinks party on the House of Commons' terrace to warn against "backbiting and carping" and tell MPs to prepare for "serious business" after Parliament's summer recess.

She warned that infighting could result in Labour and Jeremy Corbyn winning power.